a lot of the people that we know in this town and other great centers of power somehow think that only the truly informed, the truly educated, can somehow know what direction this country should take. i often thought the reason why warren thought that is because in combat, like john and others and bob dole and danny, they served next to ordinary people with 8th grade and high school educations.

for me, all of the things that have been said about warren i could repeat and it would emphasize what you already know about them. the reason why i martin so much is the reason i just stated -- the reason why i admired him so much is the reason i just stated. i never met a man in all of the time i have served with the single exception of daniel inouye who had the grit -- in ordinary americans.

the thing i like best from warren is when he said, just tell them the truth. that is what he always did. he told the truth. we all have a slightly different perspective, his honesty could be searing, but his compassion was always profound. that is a rare combination for any man or woman. he believed that the coolest lives are often told in silence. he would come up to you and say, i was flat wrong. let me conclude by saying that one of the tests in all of my

years is that for warren rudman, he said the client of the realm is your integrity, and it is. -- there is a coin of the realm that is your integrity and it is. when you speak, speak the absolute truth. you can take what they say to the bank and you can take to the bank aired judgment -- their judgment.

justice souter, you recall better than anyone else -- a lot of people were here at the time -- in this very room, we had some very contentious hearings. we had gone through a very unpleasant battle with another justice. i went down to meet with the president, who would come next. your name was put forward. everyone knew only a few things about you. you had an incredible and impeccable background of academically and in terms of the character, but no one else knew much about you at all. on my side of the aisle, there is an overwhelming reluctance to accept -- and i do not mean this as a political statement -- he said, i guarantee you he will be a conservative justice.

that was like putting up a red flag. warren rudman came to see me. he said, joe, i guarantee you this man not only has integrity, that he comes with no agenda. he has an open mind. he will listen. it is not merely he is a great lawyer, but he is a man who will in fact listen. that is why i ask you that question about being able to listen and hear the voices of the rest of the country.

warren rudman said of you, david souter is a brilliant intellectual. he cannot be classified as an ideologue in any way, shape, or form. if you remember, i went into our caucus and said, i am supporting justice souter. it was a cry at the time in our caucus. they asked me, why? i said, because warren rudman said he had an open mind and was not an ideologue. that is the reason why david souter is one of the great supreme court justices, because warren rudman said he was not in ideologue.

i cannot think of all of the years we have served here many men who could stand up and say, i assure you, you do not know this man, but i assure you he is what i say. he is an incredible guy. we look to the parts we most admire -- the way he treated everyone with dignity. on behalf of jill and i, it is truly an honor. my dad had expression, "kid, you have good blood." [applause]

>> i said earlier this afternoon that everyone who listened to warren heard the same story. we have listened to a number of distinguished people this afternoon, and we have heard the same story. we have heard the same story about who warren was and how he went about doing what he did. that story was anticipated by the poet from our part of the world when he wrote this, "the work is play for mortal stakes

-- and for future sakes." everything warren did was for heaven and for future sakes. let us stand adjourned. [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> the house oversight committee held a committee on causes for rising autism right with testimonies. you can see that sunday, 10:30 a.m. >> washbourne went to harvard law school. he emigrated out west to illinois where the lead mine

industry was in its heyday. he arrived after a month's journey by ship, by stagecoach, by train, and arrived in this muddy mining town, boarded himself in a log cabin, established a look -- law practice. he worked his way up and became a successful lawyer. he got involved politically, ran for congress. served for eight terms. he befriended abraham lincoln and you sillies s. gragrant. washbourne was a close confidante. after grant was elected president, he appointed washbou rne secretary of state.

washbourne became ill. his family felt for his life -- there for his life. he submitted his resignation. grant accepted his resignation. over the next couple of months, he regained his health, which was always fragile. grant offered him the position as minister of france and ambassador. >> michael hill, elihu washbourne. the only diplomat from a major power to stay during the siege of paris. son and 9:00. >> first lady mr. obama welcome to military families to the white house for this season's first u.s. of holiday decorations. the theme is the way to all. the white house christmas tree

is decorated by children living on u.s. military bases around the world. the first lady's remarks are about 15 minutes. > [applause] >> hi, everyone. welcome to the white house. prequel, hu? yeah. let me start by thanking jennifer for that lovely introduction and to welcome her family here as well. her father and her husband. we are so grateful for your service and glad you could be here. thank you, jennifer, for everything that you and your family have done for this country and what you have done to make this house as beautiful as it is. as first lady, you know that i have had the privilege of traveling across this country. one of the best things i get to

do is to meet with all of the wonderful military families, like jennifer's family and your families. it is an honor to host you all here today at the white house. yeah. the cool house. i like it. i have said this many times before. i will say it again because i cannot say it enough. our military families truly represent the very best that this country has to offer. i have seen it up close. you all do so much for this country. you do it with such amazing poise and grace. you all our outstanding neighbors. and you are just phenomenal, focused parents. you are tremendous co-workers and community leaders in your own rights. you all do this under such

extraordinary circumstances. so many of you are doing it while moving from base to base every couple of years. and during all of those months of a long deployments which was once serving oftentimes halfway around the world. then there are our military kids. you guys look gorgeous and handsome today. and very clean. [laughter] and we will try to change that. we will have a sugar and glue and stuff like that. it will be ok, moms and dads, because the photos will have been done, so they can get messy and get the cookies around their mouths. you guys are very brave. you are tremendous heroes in your own rights because we know how hard you all were to adjust to all of the changes that go on in your life. how many new schools have you guys been?

give me some numbers. how many schools have you been to? four? how old are you? 10. four years, 10 years old. that is typical. you meet these kids. they have been to soi can tell. you are an a student. so many of the step up and handle your business while mom or dad is the way. i want you all to no how proud we are. we think you are pretty amazing individuals. i know you may not feel that way, but you are special. we are so happy to have you here. we are grateful for your sacrifice. we are grateful for your service. that is why we want to invite all of you here today. to say thank you. this is one big huge thank-you

from me to you all. we have on some wonderful ways to pay tribute to your service and sacrifice. as an important part of our holiday decorating effort here at the white house and it starts tjhe minute visitors walk to the white house for their tours. the first thing they see, the very first tere, honest our men and women in uniform for the extraordinary sacrifice they and their families have made. thanks to several of you here today, this tree is now decorated with special gold star ornaments, bearing the names of some of america's greatest heroes, those who gave their lives for our country. in the gold star family who visits the white house during this season will have opportunity to decorate their own armament and hang it on the ent tree -their own ornamne

and hang it on the holiday tree. also operation on our current. these cards are used to pledge individual service to their community in honor of our military family service members and veterans. guests will be able to write a note expressing their gratitude for the service that all of you have given to this country. we are also honoring our military families with some very special decorations on the official white house christmas tree that is in the blue room. the biggest in the house. it stands close to 19 feet tall. it is one of my favorite trees. this special joining forces tree is covered with had decorated

ornaments made by military children living in u.s. bases around the world. we spent months gathering these beautiful ornaments and guests will be able to take the time and read the messages and hear from these kids directly as they tour the white house. in addition to these unique attributes to our military families, we also have many of the traditional holiday favorites built around our central theme. the custom of selecting an official holiday theme began in the 1960's went first lady jacqueline kennedy created in nutcracker themed christmas for her daughter caroline. in -- this year's theme is joy to all. it celebrates the joy of giving and service to others. the joy of sharing our

blessings with one another and of course the joy of welcoming our friends and family as guests into our homes over the -- over these next several weeks. we have continued the tradition of decorating trees throughout the house. we have 54 trees in the white house. that is a lot of trees. they reflect the theme, including four trees in the grand foyer, the area out here, trimmed with ornaments paying tribute to the holiday legacies ladiesformer prr first dating back to jackie kennedy. some of them are replicas but there are a few that are original ornaments and they are tagged. some of them are mine, some of and the laura bushs's key is sense of what christmas

felt like in other administrations. of course keeping with past holiday traditions, we have our annual white house gingerbread house. have you guys seen that yet? our executive pastry chef and his team did a phenomenal job. this white house looks kind of real. what do you all think? we got a thumbs up there. it is beautiful. it white house holiday staple since the 1960's, this year's house weighs nearly 300 pounds. it is made to resemble granite so he did some kind of technique and it even includes chandeliers that light up. it glows. like rudolph's nose.

it is beautiful and we have a little red book of first lady garden with all the details in a giant bow. that basically represents bows standing in the house. h beau's standing in the ouse. also have a special activity prepared for the young people who visit the white house this year. we thought it would be fun to give them a book market checklist that instructs them to find all of the hidden demint located in eight rooms in the white house. we hope that will keep kids busy while parents are looking at christmas cards. these are just a few of this year's highlights and i could go on and on but i know we have cookies to decorate and things to do but what i have to tell

you is that this would not be possible if it were not for the 85 that does volunteers like jennifer who took time out of their busy lives to come from all parts of the country to help us decorate this house. it happens overnight. literally, once the tree is delivered, it is a matter of days before this house is transformed into what you see. it is because people like jennifer who come in and build bonds and share stories about their grandchildren and they are as dedicated as jennifer is to making this house beautiful. we are just so grateful to have some many people willing to take time out of their lives and invest in this house for so many to see. great holiday be a for everyone and we are just excited to have visitors come through. this is our official opening. throughout the holiday season, more than 90,000 people will come from around the world to

see this house. i cannot imagine a better way to get things kick off than by having all of you here with us. with that, i want to again thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service and your sacrifice. i do hope that your holiday season is truly special. that you really use this time to reflect and come together. so many of us in this country will use your lives as inspiration as we sit around our trees and tables and think about all the we have and all that you all are sacrificing to make sure we live in freedom and harmony. we are truly grateful to all of you. the thank you. now, you guys ready? to have some fun? i will ask all of our kids, you guys are gonna come with me. make you rise. we have activities planned.

parents, not despair. your children will be safe. we will bring that back, maybe a little bird year but it will be happy. a little bit of a sugar high, maybe. try not to glue and lick at the same time. not everything is everything -- at the will. let's go. we will see you all shortly. thank you so much. happy holidays. [applause] >> secretary of state hillary clinton on this id to which in the middle east. after that, a congressional tribute to late senator warren redman then another chance to

see first lady michelle obama showing the white house christmas decorations to military families. tomorrow on washington journal, paul weinstein, the former senior adviser to the simpson bowles commission, on the wall the commission's recommendations are playing in the ongoing negotiations concerning the fiscal cliff. from the government accountability office, they discussed the state of the facilities at guantanamo bay and the factors to be considered in moving detainee's stateside. and what did it did for near east policy, the latest from egypt after president mohammad morsi granted himself hoarse above the court. washington journal, live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> c-span, created by america's cable companies in 1979, brought to you as a public-service by

your television provider. >> now secretary of state hillary clinton talks about her recent travels to the middle east to help broker a ceasefire agreement between israel and hamas and the gaza strip. she also, the iranian nuclear threat and criticizes israel's decision to build homes on israeli occupied lands. this is a little over an hour. [applause] >> i am somewhat overwhelmed, but i'm obviously thinking i should sit down.

[laughter] i prepared some remarks for tonight, but then i thought maybe we could just watch that video a few more times. [laughter] and then the next time, i could count the hairstyles, which is one of my favorite pastimes. [laughter] i think i now know what it feels like to be one of haim's mighty morphin power rangers. [laughter] well, i guess we should expect nothing less from haim saban, who's a friend, a colleague, a mentor, an inspiration to so many of us here tonight. he certainly has always challenged me to make the most of america's place in the world and especially our close friendship with israel.

and it is extremely humbling to be honored by the saban forum in front of so many americans and israelis whom i know and respect so greatly. and i am so appreciative of all those very much too kind words. i can't wait to show my husband. [laughter and applause] and speaking of spouses, i want to acknowledge my dear friend, cheryl saban, who's being doing heroic work as a public delegate with our team at the united nations. there are so many friends here, and it's always a little dangerous -- in fact, a lot dangerous -- to acknowledge or point out any.

but obviously, i want to thank martin indyk and tamara wittes and all the thinkers and scholars whose insights help us navigate this very difficult, challenging time. i also want to say a special word to two friends who are retiring. one, senator joe lieberman, who is leaving the senate and going into standup comedy, i'm told. [laughter] he's got a lot of good lines; i've heard many of them over the years. but he and hadassah deserve some very well merited time for themselves. and of course, ehud barak,

who's announced his retirement. and so we want to wish you very much happiness in the future as well. let me also acknowledge the chairman of my authorizing and oversight committee, senator john kerry. [applause] >> thank you, john. and teresa heinz, it's wonderful seeing you here as well. [applause] my congresswoman, nita lowey, who does such a great job in every way and is, as they say, moving on up, which we're happy to hear. i saw howard berman here, and i think we all want to pay a great acknowledgment and gratitude to howard.

there are some others that i just want briefly to mention, other members of congress. i know there are some here, but i can't see everyone. i want to also acknowledge foreign minister lieberman, deputy prime minister meridor, ambassador oren, our ambassador dan shapiro, my former deputy secretary jim steinberg, everyone who's made this journey to be with us tonight. and i think that we have a lot to celebrate, because for years we have told you, our israeli friends, that america has israel's back. and this month, we proved it again. [applause] when israel responded to a rain of rockets, when sirens sounded and schools emptied and air raid shelters filled, america's next move was never in question.

president obama and i stood before the international community and supported israel's right to defend itself from a threat no country would tolerate. the iron dome system -- invented by israel, underwritten by america -- knocked rockets out of the sky like never before. we supported regional and international efforts to de- escalate the conflict and then seized on a diplomatic opening when it came. working closely with president obama from halfway around the world, i left the east asia summit in cambodia to fly to tel aviv, to drive to jerusalem, to meet with the prime minister and members of the inner cabinet, to go the next day to ramallah, then back to the prime minister's office, and then to cairo, and we were able to play a role in enabling the ceasefire to occur.

that fragile ceasefire is holding. the skies above israel are clear. and we are beginning to see the efforts to rebuild and resume daily life. but the world knows -- and always will know -- that whenever israel is threatened, the united states will be there. now, that's a good thing, because we believe in our shared values. we understand we both live in a complicated and dangerous world. we're in the midst of a transformative moment in the middle east, one that offers as many questions -- in fact more questions than answers -- and one that poses new challenges to israel's place in the emerging regional order.

as the story unfolds, all of us must work together to seize the promise and meet these challenges of this dynamic, changing middle east. in the past month alone, we've seen both the promise and those challenges. we've seen post-revolutionary egypt work with the united states to help israel broker a ceasefire and protect egypt's peace treaty with israel. we have seen cutting-edge defenses protect israel, cities and rural areas. we have seen israel fight for and win a stop to rocket fire from gaza. but we've also seen the challenge of turning a ceasefire into a lasting calm; of helping palestinians committed to peace find a more constructive path to pursue it; of putting israel's peace with egypt on a stronger foundation; of making sure that iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon.

and just yesterday, as you know, the united nations general assembly voted to grant the palestinian authority non-member observer state status, a step that will not bring us any closer to peace. when it comes to a region full of uncertainty, upheaval, revolution, this much is constant and clear -- america and israel are in it together. this is a friendship that comes naturally to us. americans honor israel as a homeland dreamed of for generations and finally achieved by pioneering men and women in my lifetime. we share bedrock beliefs in freedom, equality, democracy, and the right to live without fear.

what threatens israel threatens america, and what strengthens israel strengthens us. our two governments maintain not just the formal u.s.israel strategic dialogue, but a daily dialogue, sometimes an hourly dialogue, at every level. in a season of tight budgets, u.s. assistance to israel is at a record high. and over the past few weeks, i have heard from israelis the gratitude they felt when, after hearing the sirens, they saw a second rocket launch, and knew that was iron dome, making them safer. america has helped keep israel's qualitative military edge as strong as ever. and prime minister netanyahu has described our security cooperation and overall partnership with israel as "unprecedented." our shared obsession with innovation is also bringing us closer together.

google executive chairman eric schmidt recently called israel "the most important high tech center in the world, after the united states." so it is no surprise that our diplomatic challenge is not only about a dialogue of strategic and political interests, including not just our soldiers and our politicians, but increasingly including our techies and our venture capitalists and our entrepreneurs. since israel signed america's first- ever free trade agreement back in 1985, trade between us has increased from 5 billion to more than 35 billion. but all that we hope to accomplish together depends on keeping israelis safe to pursue their passions in peace and security. it depends on ensuring israel's future as a secure, democratic, jewish state.

so tonight i want to speak about four of the goals that our countries must pursue together to make that happen in a new middle east. first, iranian-made missiles and rockets launched from gaza at tel aviv and jerusalem only drove home what we already know -- america, israel, and the entire international community must prevent iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. [applause] this is a commitment that president obama has made and repeated, because we know very well the iranian regime already exports terrorism, not only to israel's doorstep, but across the world.

if we had a map i could put up there, i could show you what we track and plot on that map -- the evidence of terrorism -- mostly, thankfully, plots foiled or unsuccessful. unfortunately, as in bulgaria, some that succeeded. but those plots, those activities of iran directly and through their agents, stretches from mexico to thailand. we see iran bringing repression to syria. we see iran brutalizing their own people. so a nuclear iran is not simply a threat to israel. it is a threat to all nations and risks opening the floodgates on nuclear proliferation around the world. when it comes to iran's nuclear threat, the united states does not have a policy of containment.

we have a policy of prevention, built on the dual tracks of pressure and engagement, while keeping all options on the table. the united states is ratcheting up the pressure to sharpen the choices facing iran's leadership. we've had our own sanctions in place for many years. but we never had a coalition like the one we have built over the last four years. we convinced all 27 nations of the european union to stop importing iranian oil and all 20 major global importers of iranian oil -- including japan, india, china, and turkey -- to make significant cuts. iran today exports more than one million fewer barrels of crude each day than it did just last year.

iran's currency is worth less than half of what it was last november. the pressure is real and it is growing. and let me add, we take pride in the coalition we have assembled, but no pleasure in the hardship that iran's choices have caused its own people to endure. we are making every effort to ensure that sanctions don't deprive iranians of food, medicines, and other humanitarian goods. i travel the world working to help people everywhere take part in the global economy, and we never lose sight of the fact that iranians deserve this no less than any other people. america's goal is to change the iranian leadership's calculus. we have worked with the p-5 plus 1 to put a credible offer on the table. if there is a viable diplomatic deal to be had, we will pursue it. and should iran finally be ready

to engage in serious negotiations, we are ready. when iran is prepared to take confidence-building measures that are verifiable, we are prepared to reciprocate. what we will not do is talk indefinitely. the window for negotiation will not stay open forever. president obama has made that clear, and by now i think it should be clear this is a president who does not bluff. he says what he means, and he means what he says. the second shared goal i want to discuss is this -- now that rocket fire from gaza has stopped, america and israel have to work together with partners in the region to turn the ceasefire into a lasting calm. now, we have no illusions about those who launched the rockets.

they had every intention of hiding behind civilians in gaza and killing civilians in israel. and they would have killed more of each if they could have. they even fired poorly aimed rockets at jerusalem, endangering palestinians as well as israelis, muslim holy sites as well as those of christians and jews. as we said throughout the crisis, israel retains every right to defend itself against such attacks. but a lasting ceasefire is essential for the people of israel, whose communities lie in the path of these rockets. the people of gaza deserve better, too. half the gaza population are under the age of 18.

these children, who didn't choose where they were born, have now seen two military conflicts in the last four years. like all children, our children, they deserve better. just as israel cannot accept the threat of rockets, none of us can be satisfied with a situation that condemns people on both sides to conflict every few years. those who fire the rockets are responsible for the violence that follows, but everyone, all parties in the region, and people of good faith outside of the region, have a role to play in keeping or making peace. israel can keep working energetically with egypt to implement the ceasefire to keep the rockets out but also work to try to advance the needs of the people of gaza.

for its part, egypt can use its unique relationship with hamas and the other palestinian factions in gaza to make clear that it opposes provocation and escalation on its borders. and we look to egypt to intensify its efforts to crack down on weapon smuggling from libya and sudan into gaza. i am convinced that if more rockets are allowed to enter gaza through the tunnels, that will certainly pave the way for more fighting again soon. we are ready to help and to support egyptian efforts to bring security and economic development to the sinai. others who are close to hamas and the other factions in gaza, including turkey and qatar, can and should make clear that another violent confrontation is in no one's interest. hamas itself, which has condemned those it rules to violence and misery, faces a choice between the future of gaza and its fight with israel.

america has shown that we are willing to work with islamists who reject violence and work toward real democracy. but we will not, we will never, work with terrorists. hamas knows what it needs to do if it wishes to reunite the palestinians and rejoin the international community. it must reject violence, honor past agreements with israel, and recognize israel's right to exist. of course, the most lasting solution to the stalemate in gaza would be a comprehensive peace between israel and all palestinians, led by their legitimate representative, the palestinian authority. which brings me to the third goal we must pursue together -- at a time when violence commands attention, america and israel must do better at demonstrating not just the costs of extremism but the benefits of cooperation and coexistence.

for example, we have to convince palestinians that direct negotiations with israel represent not just the best but the only path to the independent state they deserve. america supports the goal of a palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security with israel. but this week's vote at the un won't bring palestinians any closer to that goal. it may bring new challenges to the united nations system and for israel. but this week's vote should give all of us pause. all sides need to consider carefully the path ahead. palestinian leaders need to ask themselves what unilateral action can really accomplish for their people.

president abbas took a step in the wrong direction this week. we opposed his resolution. but we also need to see that the palestinian authority in the west bank still offers the most compelling alternative to rockets and permanent resistance. at a time when religious extremists claim to offer rewards in the hereafter, israel needs to help those committed to peace deliver for their people in the here and now. the leaders of the west bank -- president abbas and prime minister fayyad -- deserve credit for their real achievements on the ground. they made their streets safe again; they brought a measure of peace; they overhauled governing institutions. they have cooperated with israel to help enhance israel's security.

and we have to be honest with ourselves that, right now, all of this needs our political and economic support to be sustainable. it also needs a political horizon. so particularly in light of today's announcement, let me reiterate that this administration -- like previous administrations -- has been very clear with israel that these activities set back the cause of a negotiated peace. we all need to work together to find a path forward in negotiations that can finally deliver on a two-state solution. that must remain our goal. and if and when the parties are ready to enter into direct negotiations to solve the conflict, president obama will be a full partner. now, some will say that, given the disappointments of the past and the uncertainties of today, now is not the time even to contemplate a return to serious negotiations, that it should be enough for israel just to muddle through dealing with whatever crisis arises. whatever crisis arises.